From the Morning Memo:
A coalition of criminal justice reform advocates in a letter to district attorneys New York this week urged them to being the implementation of changes to laws governing cash bail and strengthening speedy trial protections.
The letter comes six weeks after state lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo agreed to changes that would end cash bail for misdemeanors and non-violent felonies in addition to increasing protections so that a person arrested is not waiting in a local jail for a trial.
Many of the changes are set to go into effect on Jan. 1 of next year. But the advocates are pushing district attorneys in the state to begin the phase in for them now.
“Actors in the criminal legal system have a responsibility to end draconian practices that gave rise to mass incarceration. Phasing in these reforms now is not only ethical; it’s responsible,” the letter stated. “Every prosecutor in the state should have experience doing their jobs in away that aligns with the new pretrial laws before they go into effect.”
The letter was signed by Alliance for Quality Education Legislative Director Jasmine Gripper, Working Families Party State Director Bill Lipton, New York Communities for Change Long Island Director Lucas Sanchez and Nick Encalada-Malinowski, the civil rights campaign director for VOCAL-NY.
Specifically, the letter is seeking prosecutors to share case evidence no later than 15 days after an arraignment, end seeking cash bail for charges in the “mandatory release” category of the new law and seek non-monetary forms of bail. They also want more people released before trial without conditions that are considered difficult to meet.
“In less than a year, your offices will be required to implement these common sense reforms to bail, discovery and speedy trial laws,” the letter states. “The New Yorkers who have elected you to office should not have to wait until January for the justice that you could offer now.”
Letter to New York State District Attorneys by Nick Reisman on Scribd